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Thanksgiving is a terrible Holiday. It is no surprise it comes so close to Columbus day. Both of these holidays perpetuate the myths around the colonization of North America by Europeans. These myths suggest that the land was not occupied, the people living here did not have their own societies, the people here did not mind the Europeans invasion, the Europeans were kind or gentle people, the Europeans were victims, the Europeans were not racist and cruel, etc.

Thanksgiving needs to be transformed into a day of rememberance for the millions of indigenous people in North America who suffered and still suffer from genocide, rape, pillaging, theft, oppression, torture, degradation, cheating, cultural appropriation and more at the hands of whites. Solidarity with all indigenous peoples struggling for autonomy.

Christopher Columbus was a terrible person, who deserves no holiday. Next year we are pushing to celebrate Columbus day as Harriet Tubman day instead. The kids in our neighborhood suggested she might be a much more worthwhile person to celebrate.

As for Thanksgiving, I know of 2 people who are planning to fast on Thanksgiving, so as to avoid any participation in the gluttonous celebration of genocide. Someone else I know bakes vegan baked goods every year and hands them out and gets people to make hand turkeys and pledge not to eat turkey this Thanksgiving. I’m going to help him again this year, and probably hand out the food in front of the North Avenue Library.

This is War. We exist in a state of war. I strongly suspect that stating “This Is War” is going to be taken by some as a declaration of war. It is not. This is an observation of war. This is an acknowledgment of war. Anarchists are at war. People of color are at war. The poor are at war. Women are at war. Queers are at war. Animals, the environment, differently abled folks, and the elderly are at war.

This war was declared on us. And I think it might have always been a factor, since the beginning of human history, at least for some of these groups. Capitalism is a major factor in the way that today’s situation is played out- it defines the format of the struggles/war.

Let me break it down some. War is defined as- 1- a state of usually open and declared armed hostile conflict between states or nations or -2- a state of hostility, conflict, or antagonism- a struggle or competition between opposing forces or for a particular end.

Without even stretching the definition of war it is clear that the capitalist/straight/white/rich/male powers that be are at war with the rest of us. The capitalist system, as well as the governing system in the United States of Amerikka, depend on hierarchy to exist. And hierarchy is maintained by keeping certain people down/oppressed.

Memes like the War on Terror and the War on Drugs make this situation even more explicit. The bottom line is that for centuries people have been enslaved, hurt, tortured, harassed, sexually assaulted, imprisoned, massacred, murdered, executed, assassinated, assaulted, and generally speaking really fucking oppressed. Our side is losing and it hurts.

Memes like the War on Terror and the War on Drugs are also important to understand as meaning more than simply fighting drugs and fighting terror. Because there are basically certain groups of people who are more effected by these concepts than others. The War on Drugs is basically a cover for a racist and classist war against people of color and poor people. The War on Terror is racist, colonial and Islamaphobic, as well as clearly an oppressive political tool.

Why does this matter? Might be the question running through your head. I strongly believe that we need to conceptualize this situation as war in order to understand fully the gravity of it, as well as in order to develop appropriate and effective tactics and strategies. Continue reading →